Marketplaces

What’s at Stake

Marketplaces have long provided a central place where people come together, exchange goods and services, and establish relationships that create a sense of community. In the virtual world, marketplaces such as eBay emerged as new models of commerce with efficiencies of scale that vastly broadened the availability of products and services to consumers. They also provided new possibilities for creating transparency, accountability, and trust within a marketplace.  

Virtual marketplaces rooted in these values provide the most efficient way for people to connect and transact. People can find goods and services from others that serve their needs, or they may find opportunities to donate money or time to projects or causes that matter to them.

Strategy

Drawing on our experience at eBay, we are uniquely positioned to help organizations build vibrant online marketplaces through our knowledge of how to align incentives, form passionate communities, and encourage transparency, accountability, and trust between people. Our investments include philanthropic marketplaces, online platforms that enable social entrepreneurs to connect with citizen philanthropists. We also invest in for-profit marketplaces that can level the playing field for individuals in emerging markets or developed countries, improving access to economic opportunity, information, and valuable goods and services.

Goal

We hope to foster greater choice, transparency, and accountability via online marketplaces so that people can provide and access products and services that enhance the quality of life for themselves and others. In the area of philanthropy, we aim to bolster the effectiveness and efficiency of dollars and time devoted to philanthropic causes.

Portfolio